LOGINNINA'S POVWhen I first saw her, I froze. A young boy was in the arms of Amaya, who was standing by the door. Every muscle in my body tensed up and decided to lock up all at once. Half of my breath caught in my throat. I blinked once and twice, but the picture remained unchanged. The boy existed. Amaya's grip on him was genuine. My heart began to beat too rapidly. My gaze fell upon the boy. His hair. his eyes. Goddamn his eyes. They had too much of the same appearance. I felt uneasy. Even though I was perspiring, my fingers became cold. It couldn't be, my brain kept telling me. It was impossible. It was Amaya's lips that moved first."Nina," she said in a thin, uncertain voice. It appeared as though she wanted to run. "I didn't... I didn't intend for you to learn this way. I took a deep breath. I had a parched throat. "Discover what?" My intuition knew exactly what she meant when I asked. I didn't want to accept it. My voice sounded unsteady. Until it hurt
DEREK'S POVThe blow struck me squarely in the jaw. Despite the sharp sting, I remained motionless. I blinked once as my head jerked slightly to one side. My body did not move. I didn't put up my hands. I didn't defend myself. Despite hearing the gasps around us, I remained rooted. I didn't care that the second hit hurt my ribs. Let him expel it. Until he feels better, let him swing. He needed this, and I didn't deserve it. My breath came slowly and rough. For a moment, I couldn't see clearly, but I concentrated on the teacher's shouting coming from somewhere in the background.He kept making wild, heavy, clumsy fists that were driven by anger and other emotions. Maybe jealousy. Perhaps panic. I was pushed back an inch by each punch, but I refused to back down. I did not even put up my hand. Inside, I was steady. Despite the pain in my chest, I was not afraid. Jace knew me. I was all too familiar with this version of him. He was attempting to establish a point, not to destroy
JACE.I was already half pissed when I got to school. My head still throbbed from the night before. I hadn’t eaten breakfast. My stomach felt sour. The second I stepped into the hallway, the noise, footsteps, and lockers slamming. It made my temples ache worse. I rubbed my eyes and tried to focus on getting to class. Just one day, I told myself. One day, get through it, then figure out what the hell my father wanted with the council. But the second I saw the class schedule taped to the wall, my gut twistedNina's name was printed right under mine. Same class. Same lab section. Same damn row. My chest tightened instantly. My grip on my bag strap went stiff. I read it twice just to be sure, but it didn’t change. I swore under my breath. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.” My throat felt dry. I wanted to walk out right then, but that’d only make me look weak. So I pushed through the door.She was already there. Sitting in the same row, one desk over. Her head bent over her notebook, hair tied
JACE.My voice felt rough when I spoke that morning. I had barely slept, and it scraped out of my throat like. My chest felt tight. My head pounded behind my eyes. I rubbed at my neck. My skin was weary, my mouth dry. I told myself to just get through this morning. One more day. One more damn day closer to being done with this semester. I was sick of it. I was sick of everyone. My reflection in the mirror looked like I hadn’t slept in weeks. I scowled at it. I could feel the exhaustion crawling through me, the kind that didn’t go away with rest. It was under my skin. I clenched my jaw. I hated feeling weak. I told myself to move.I pulled my hoodie on, dragged my bag over my shoulder. My body felt heavy. My hands were shaking a little from the lack of sleep, but I ignored them. My stomach churned. I could still taste the bitterness from last night. My mind kept replaying the argument, every word, every silence in between. I sighed sharply. I hated how quiet the house was in the morni
AIDEN.“It’s impossible, He can't be mine,” I said. My voice came out shaky; it was obvious I was scared and anxious My throat felt dry right after saying it. The words didn’t sound convincing even to me. I could feel my pulse hammering behind my ears. I wanted her to flinch, to back down, to take it back. But Amaya didn’t move. She just looked at me, quiet, steady, her arms crossed. “You know it isn’t impossible.”The air between us seemed to thicken. I blinked, jaw tightening, trying to keep my face still. My stomach twisted. She said it like she’d rehearsed it, like she’d been waiting to throw it at me.“No,” I said, shaking my head. “You’re out of your mind. You always do this—make something up when you’re cornered.”“I didn’t make this up,” she said, voice low but clear. “I didn’t want to tell you, but we both know what happened. Twice.”Her tone was calm, almost too calm, and that made it worse. My hands twitched at my sides. I felt the weight of her words dig in under my skin.
AMAYAIt was late, way past midnight, maybe closer to one fucking finally. The house had finally gone quiet, but my head hadn’t.The boy was asleep in the next room, small breaths steady and soft. I’d been sitting beside him for almost an hour after he’d gone under, watching the rise and fall of his chest. The lamp threw weak light across the floor, and I sat there hunched forward, elbows on my knees, hands pressed together like I was praying.I wasn’t praying. I was thinking. Or trying to. My thoughts kept looping back on themselves until they didn’t even sound like words anymore. Today was too much. Too loud. Too many faces, too many fake smiles.The Alpha had said it in front of everyone. *The boy carries Jace’s blood.*That was all it took. One sentence, and everything around me shifted. The pack turned their eyes on me like I’d just grown a crown. Some looked proud. Some looked ready to tear me apart.Either way, I had what I wanted — security. Recognition. No one could touch hi







